Ceramic Blades

C

Craig Bayley

Joined
Feb 24, 2006
Messages
6
Hello

Does anyone out there possess a ceramic blade knife- either a kitchen or folding blade?

I recently read about them on the web and although strictly not for use as prying tools, or to be dropped, they said that the edge is incredibly sharp because of the blade material, the manufacturer stated 'too sharp to shave with"...?
 
The promotional releases with most knives should usually be ignored. Ceramics can be very sharp, I have seen a Kyocera kitchen utility knife which was sharper than the majority of steel knives I have seen NIB. The biggest problem with them is the machinability is so low that when you resharpen them it can taken some time, however this can be dealt with same as you would with steels, micro-bevels and not letting the blade get too blunt to begin with.

-Cliff
 
I fell for the hype in the first Bokers that came out. I bought one, not a cheap knife. I used it for a time. In truth it was a nice knife, good looking but not my cup of tea. In this case the blade was not that sharp. Sharp enough to do most jobs but certainly not up there even with my cheaper steel blades. I finally sold it to Slatts here for $40 just to get rid of it.

The ceramic blades are extremely brittle. That is the scary part about having them in a folder to me. One slip where you drop the knife and the blade is history. Close your eyes and hope for the best if that occurs.

STR
 
Hopefully they have improved.

But the Boker ceramic knife I bought some time ago was only OK sharp - no where near as sharp as I could get any steel blade including 420.

This stands to reason as ceramics are relatively brittle so they NEED to be fairly thick at the edge to add strength - this means that they have to have pretty obtuse edge angles.

The ceramic knives at the time boasted of never having to be sharpened - and if pursued - were not supposed to be home sharpened and needed to be returned for sharpening....

This boils down to a so-so sharp knife that I could not sharpen.......

I returned mine for a refund.

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
 
I've kept my Puma Keramik for a few years now. I made the mistake of using it to cut some chicken for dinner the night I brought it home. I used a fork to hold the meat steady, and ran the blade along one of the tines.:eek: It took some tiny chips out of the front of the blade, but nothing major. The front of the blade just happened to be the sharpest point, when I got it, due to the higher bevel on the edge. I still occasionally carry the knife, as it is still sharp enough to get the job done, but if it had a higher bevel to begin with, that would have made it a little more likely to get carried.

I think the potential for ceramics to be great knives is there, if taken care of, and if it came with an acute original edge. But these are not for everybody. Light use as a Gent's knife, or kitchen only use would be their place to shine.

Now, if you just wanted something to sneak by onto an airplane, they might fit the bill.:p

I've yet to try Boker's new Ceratitan blades. To hear them talk, it gives you the best properties of Ceramic (extremely hard, non-staining) with the added benefits of a steel knife (not brittle). We'll see...

Daniel
 
More BS.
Knives are made of steel.. always have been, always will be..
Now its the "titanium craze'.. more BS..
 
I have owned two Boker folding ceramic knives; both were disappointments as they came with not very sharp edges and ceramic is difficult to sharpen (I ruined one trying to sharpen it and sold the other.) What coud be more dissapointing than a dull and brittle knife? I also had one Kyocera kitchen knife (white with approx. 4.5" blade.) One of the sharpest out of the box knives I have ever seen and it woked great. Then I broke the tip off in a kitchen mishap (thin and brittle.) Then it got dull. I tried to resharpen it using an Eze-Lap F diamond stone. The edge chipped out badly, but I still used it for a while (sort of like a serrated knife.) I have heard ceramic blades can be successfully sharpened using fine sandpaper, but I do not think it is worth the effort. I have since thrown it out and have no desire to get another. I would agree that steel is the best material currently available. As a side note, I have been using a Kyocera ceramic peeler for a couple of years and I like it better than any steel one I have ever used.
 
Thank you everybody for the feedback, I appreciate it. I was looking at the Kyocera range, out of interest about the sharpness, although the price and the brittleness is prohibitive at present. And yes, I must admit, without a knife on a plane I feel quite naked, so there was that aspect as well, although the Cold Steel plastic blade might just fill that need.
 
Daniel Dorn said:
I've yet to try Boker's new Ceratitan blades. To hear them talk, it gives you the best properties of Ceramic (extremely hard, non-staining) with the added benefits of a steel knife (not brittle). We'll see...
Daniel
Click to expand...

Believe me, ceratitan blades are brittle enough. mine broke before I had a chance to sharpen it for the review I had up some months ago. Knives Illustrated did a review 2 or 3 issues back that concurs with just about everything I said. the edge It comes with is not shaving sharp, and apparently that is the most appropriate edge for the material.
 
Craig Bayley said:
And yes, I must admit, without a knife on a plane I feel quite naked, so there was that aspect as well, although the Cold Steel plastic blade might just fill that need.
Click to expand...

Please don't take this as in any way offensive -
but trying to take a sharp pointy object on a plane
- if you get caught - can result in very serious conscequences -
as it is very obvious one is trying to sneak said object on to the plane.

Just as a personal take I simply would not risk it.

peace.

--
Vincent
http://UnknownVT2006.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT2005.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
 
well, before 9/11 there were a number of times that I would walk through airport security and forget I had my boker infinity on me.
 
I just got back from Vegas and thought that I would have been yanked off to the side for sure-- I picked up a nice Swiss Army Knife from Target (we don't have that retailer in Hawaii) to throw into the first aid kit I kept in our rental; when we got to the airport, I forgot to pack the kit into the check-in luggage, so into the carry-on it went. Halfway into the security checkpoint line I remembered it, and debated surrendering it or taking my chances (I was doing good at the casino, after all!)-- well, it passed through!

On a side noe, there were a couple military surplus stores that carried those fiberglass/Zytel "letter openers" and "tent stakes", but I certainly wasn't about to test TSA with one of those...
 
I have a small Boker folding knife with a ceramic. The blade is about as sharp as a knife can be but just don't try and cut anything that will develope any side pressure because it will surly come away with micro-chips on the cutting edge and like others have said don't even think about dropping it!

I would not buy one if I was you.

Ciao
Ron
:rolleyes:
 
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